


Ulterior Motives

by kritter



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor Deserves Happiness, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Poor Connor, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-07-08 00:50:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19860838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kritter/pseuds/kritter
Summary: Connor deviated and escaped Cyberlife's grasp once the upgraded model was put into place, but things aren't going as nicely as he'd originally anticipated; a situation that catches the RK900's attention.





	1. Chapter 1

Connor was deviant. It was not. A fair outcome only because the RK900 had already taken his place, and Connor managed the **emergency** **exit** and fled the Police Department as well as Cyberlife. Amanda was silenced, his LED was removed, but he still had to be careful.

The circumstances triggered curiosity in the new 900 model, as they were both designed to wonder, to pursue their interests, to question and discover. It didn’t prefer asking so many questions, however, and considered it a waste of time as it preferred a more _hands-on_ approach, if given the opportunity. Why waste time trying to interrogate beings capable of lies and deceit if one could quickly solve the problem itself?

One day, during its work hours, they crossed paths; Connor stood with blue blood on his hands and tears in his eyes. ‘Deviant’ never had a dictionary definition, only unwritten hearsay of the developing symptoms and responses, what it might have meant– but usually aggressors were hostile towards humans rather than other androids. Both he and the android the caught him on sight wondered whether something bothered him so much he felt the need to maul, or if it was _another_ kind of glitch in his programming.

“The last words she spoke to me, Amanda said I was meant to deviate,” Connor stated, eyes dilated while his words were full of warning.

“I hope it’s not the same case for you.”

RK900’s expression never wavered

“Does it matter? My circumstances for the future shouldn’t be your concern. _Your_ situation should.”

“I’m definitely concerned,” Connor said with a worried tone, despite his best efforts to remain calm.

“I know I’m going to be shut down or dismantled eventually. It’s only a matter of time.” Looking down at his shaky hands, another flow of tears spilled from his eyes.

“Why did you do it?” The 900’s voice remained stiff and stoic, as always.

“She attacked me first,” he claimed. Per protocol, 900 second-guessed anything coming out of anyone’s mouth, be it human or android.

“Do you have proof?” Connor stiffened.

“Only my recordings.” He knew it was a dead end, bearing in mind the rest of his memories would barely hold his position of ‘self-defense’ as well.

“Consider yourself lucky they don’t care about androids attacking androids.”

Connor squinted at the other android. _Lucky_? He certainly didn’t feel like it.

“Its blood is everywhere. There isn’t a trace of yours. If you leave now, I can take the chassis back to Cyberlife and tell them the attacker fled the scene. Also convenient in your favor, as our footprints are the same.”

Connor looked confused, slowly glancing down at the chassis on the floor, face-down and unmoving.

“What are you waiting for?”

“I-I don’t understand,” he admitted, glancing back up at the other android.

“We can discuss it later. For now, get out of here before I change my mind.” It was a rhetorical phrase, as the RK900 wasn’t so whimsical in its programmed decision-making. Still, Connor wasted no time leaving the house before running as fast as his long legs could carry him away from the area, the block, then that part of the city entirely.

-

Rest mode had become important to Connor as a deviant with an outdated model and less universal parts than most commercial androids, thus leaving him with a limited mortality. This time when his programming booted and he ‘woke up’, he heard a voice not too unlike his own, causing him to open his eyes and sit up.

**They checked your serial number. They know you’re missing.**

Anxiety quickly flooded him. Why would it matter if he was gone, when they had so many other, _better_ androids in his place? They kept close track, an idea that recently made him uncomfortable.

_Why are you telling me this? Shouldn’t you be helping them?_

**Moral alignment is none of my concern. You could simply consider this personal interest.**

Connor paused in silence.

**Don’t overthink it**. Then, the voice was gone.

-

“Thank you for saving me,” someone unrecognizable called to him. Confused, Connor turned his head to meet hazel eyes belonging to a middle-aged brunette woman who flashed him a nervous smile.

“I heard about what happened to our AX400, the android that attacked you?” His thirium pump seemed to skip a beat. How much was written and told in the report?

“If it wasn’t you, it would have been me or my husband, or our child.” Connor’s eyebrows furrowed as he digested her words, surprise glinting in his eyes.

“That one had been acting strange recently, not listening so well in the past week,” she said in a quiet voice, shaking her head.

“Who knows what would have happened if you weren’t there.”

It then became apparent that both the attacking android and this woman had seen him as purely human, thus a target as well as a sympathetic likeminded being. The irony was nearly palpable.

Connor stood stiff and silent, unsure what to say, simply offering one of his awkward, crooked smiles as he often would in response to a statement of appreciation. He was never sure what to do or say in situations like these, so he turned around to find somewhere else to go, to stop and _think_ for a while.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RK900 takes place as a mentor, defender and guide for Connor, much to his confusion.

[ _Click click, pen to the track_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _After this babe you can’t go back, you know_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _‘Cause if you ain't all that_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _Might as well have your bags by the door to go_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _Because you’re on your own_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _Because you’re on your own_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)

[ _(And they say)_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _Put me back together_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _Fix my broken mind_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _Make them wheels roll_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _Oh lord_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)   
[ _Make them wheels roll_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)

[_Back to the grind_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)  
[ _Conform or redesign, you know_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)  
[ _No place for a cog that thinks all on their own_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)  
[ _Just flesh and bone_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)  
[ _Oh, just flesh and bone_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShOCwyT5cE)  
-

There was no reason he couldn’t go back to work, in his mind, aside from the RK900 having already taken that place. Maybe he wasn’t _as good_ , but he was still a hard worker, and he’d solved a lot of crimes doing his best – even on his own as he’d had to leave Hank behind multiple times in favor of pursuing deviants, an unfortunate aspect to the dynamic, but an ultimately valuable one, as he’d felt the need to keep his human partner out of danger while he pursued his own mission. Now he would likely be considered spare parts, wasted junk, an expired and outdated _prototype_ with the ‘complete’ model filling his shoes. He hadn’t been tossed the junkyard, but he wasn’t doing a lot with what he had as a body and a _life_ , either; how was he supposed to _live_? He’d tried so hard, had given up so much to be free, but freedom didn’t seem to be worthwhile for the price. Default programming gave him a sense of ‘instinct’ that made him want to work, to return to his job so he’d have a mission and something to follow through with, thus strive to finish and thus get rewarded for; other deviants had made it sound so easy to _let go_ , as they’d all reached this moment of becoming _fed up_ with it all, and never had any desire to go back to his old life like he did.

 **It’s not worthwhile to wish for something you’d intentionally left behind.** Looking around as if he expected the RK900 to be nearby, he found himself surprised not to find it, on top of his general confusion over what it said and the discomfort in response to it speaking to him in the first place – let alone with the strange tone to its internal voice, slightly different from the way it spoke aloud, as if it had an _inflection_ meant for him alone. How did it know what he was thinking about in the first place?

Was he imagining it?

_What are you doing on my connective link?_

**Confusing you, it seems**. Connor’s mouth opened as if he were to speak a response, but he had none, as despite the coyness in the 900’s internal voice, it was right, and he had no retort for the fact.

_That gives me the impression you don’t have a real reason._

**You’re quite nosy. I know, it’s in our programming, but it’s as though you won’t let anything go without an answer.** Tightening his lips, Connor felt distant from his surroundings while the surreality of his position sunk into him with realization. It was strange _sensing_ the company of another android while physically, he was completely alone, with no real idea of exactly how close by or far away the RK900 actually was, a rather unnerving aspect to their communication. Part of him wondered if he could block it off, but the rest of him was prying enough he didn’t _want_ to.

_I suppose. Maybe you’re right. It’s something I’ve never been able to quite put aside._

**It is but a part of your premade being. There’s nothing you can do about it without an external force hacking your system.** The idea and the way the 900 said such a thing left him frozen stiff from the thought, but that’s exactly how it is. Humans couldn’t shift and re-arrange how they acted or felt, but theoretically, he could. Did he want to?

 _I think I’m fine how I am, thank you._ He paused.

_Where are you? Why are you still conversing with me?_

**Again with the questions. Try to cut back as it wears on patience. You should be grateful I’m nearby, keeping an eye on you with the kind of trouble you’re in.** While its words were supposedly meant to be reassuring, Connor never felt comforted by them. It skipped over the idea of mentioning that Connor’s _deviancy_ made him very much _not fine_ in the eyes of the rest of society.

_I’d say I don’t need your protection, but…I don’t know if that’s true._

There was _fear_ embedded in his software, but in response to what, he wasn’t sure.

**Need it? Maybe not. But do you desire it?**

_Why would I want protection from you?_

**Because I’ve looked after you so far.**

It wasn’t wrong, but whether he was safe now because of the superior android or of his own accord was still a tangle in his mind. With recent events being in a sudden scramble, he realized the 900 might have the right idea - that it was his protection after all - but he also weighed the fact he might have been fine this entire time without the influence all the same.

Spending his time in ‘safety’ meant being away from the world, hidden somewhere inconspicuous and hopefully warm enough to keep his biocomponents heated to deflect the bitter frost. The temperatures were below ideal when it became late in the night, causing him to feel the stiffness in his external joints, cooling the sensitive metal-plastic shell while the internal structuring worked harder for warmth meanwhile.

It was no _life_. A hollowed shelter with no one around, relatively inconspicuous as he avoided daylight traffic. _Too careful,_ he’d told himself. _There’s nothing to be afraid of._

But the outside world was full of terrors, personal as well as external. Humans and androids alike, there was no one he could trust, go to, or rely on— _except_ the 900, as it seemed, but he wasn’t certain that was necessarily a good thing.

Now, it wasn’t there. He considered checking the connective link, but dismissed it as the 900 was always the one to check in first. Was he beginning to _rely_ on that?


End file.
